>The Fort Myers jury deliberated for 7 ½
hours before handing down its decision in a case involving
former secretary Heather Wolff, 34, of Dade City, according
to a Fort Myers News Press story. Wolff sued in June 2003,
saying she was illegally discharged after the sexual
harassment allegations were leveled at Charlotte County
Court Administrator William Hayes.

>Wolff complained she was ostracized by co-workers
after filing a case with the US Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC), denied a promotion, and told
to perform menial tasks before being fired in May 2002.

>Officially, court officials said Wolff was fired for
refusing to take diversity training after it was learned
she put racist and vulgar notes with words such as “bitch”
and “flaming idiot” in the files of some people starting
probation, the newspaper said.

>Wolff was one of two court administration employees
who sued in 2002 and 2003, claiming they were the target of
unwanted sexual comments and gestures from Hayes.
Harassment claims filed by Wolff and Lori Howard were
dismissed by judges who ruled the allegations didn’t rise
to the level of federal antidiscrimination law violations.
However, US District Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington
allowed Wolff’s retaliation claim to go to a jury.

>But the four-day trial ended up being more about
whether Wolff wrote the notes than about retaliation. The
notes surfaced while court administrators investigated
Wolff’s sexual harassment complaint.